9 evacuated from southwest Colorado gondola cars

Officials in the southwestern Colorado town of Mountain Village say nine people and a dog had to be lowered from gondola cars when a gearbox problem caused the system to shut down.

The Telluride Daily Planet reports ( http://tinyurl.com/6sv8dma) rescuers used ropes and harnesses to get the passengers out of eight cars and down to the ground on Tuesday. No one was hurt.

The cars ranged from 20 to 80 feet off the ground.

Crews waited an hour to begin the evacuation in case the gondola could restart. It took another hour and 45 minutes to get everyone out.

The 3-mile-long gondola connects Telluride and Mountain Village, carrying skiers, hikers and sightseers. Officials say it carries more than 2 million people annually and operates about 10 months a year.